“I’ve always wanted you.” Her nails stilled against the white front of his shirt. “Even when you were such a damn idiot.” Because a little thing like her man talking to animals, well, that wasn’t going to push her away.
Time to claim her lover again.
She glanced over at his desk and didn’t even try to stop the smile that rose on her lips. “Feel like taking a walk down memory lane?”
His hungry growl was more than answer enough for her.
Cara watched Todd while he slept. Stared at the shadows beneath his eyes and the faint stubble on his jaw.
The sun rose slowly, and still she watched him. There was more that she needed to tell Todd, and she knew that when his eyes opened and he stared at her in the morning light, it would be time to share another secret with him.
She’d never told another human what she would tell him, but Todd deserved to know.
So when his eyelids finally opened and he gazed at her with sleepy brown eyes, she felt a moment of fear.
Then he lifted his hand and smoothed his fingers over her cheek.
He won’t leave. The knowledge was certain in her heart.
“Todd.” His name whispered from her lips. “I need—there’s something I have to tell you.”
He smiled and rolled onto his side. They’d made love again during the night. Sweet love, slow.
“I—you haven’t noticed it yet, but you will, soon.” She licked her lips. “Being with me, if we stay together, long term, um, you’re gonna start seeing some side effects.”
The sleep disappeared from his gaze as his body began to stiffen. “Side effects?”
“Uh, yeah.” This wasn’t the easiest conversation to have with a lover. She’d known that, and put it off as long as possible.
“Just what kind of side effects are we talking here?”
Okay, he didn’t sound overly worried. Good. “You’ve never asked me how old I am, Todd.”
“You’re twenty-eight. I saw the age on the license we found and—”
“I’m not twenty-eight.”
He blinked. “You look twenty-eight.”
Yeah, and she’d keep on looking that way—for a long time to come. “The power that succubi get from sexual energy—well, you see, part of that power—it renews us.”
A line appeared between his brows. “I don’t think I’m following you, baby.”
“Okay, follow this.” A quick breath. “Sex for a succubus, it’s like dipping into a fountain of youth.” And that was one of the reasons her kind were so hard to kill. Frozen forever at a perfect age of health and vitality—yeah, it was hard to take ’em down.
His eyes widened and a soundless whistle passed from his lips. “Holy shit.” Another whistle, a quiet one this time. “You’re saying—you’re some kind of immortal?”
Something like that. “When I’m with you and we share the power, you get dipped into that fountain with me.” A pause. Okay, she was starting to sweat. “If you keep staying with me, and I don’t take, and we both exchange the power—your body will start renewing like mine.” He’d never be as strong as she was, because he hadn’t been born an incubus, but when she poured the magic and power into his body, he would renew the same way.
They wouldn’t live forever. She wasn’t a true immortal. There were few of those guys left. But she and Todd, well, they’d sure live more than their share of days together.
“Those side effects I mentioned—well, you won’t have as many gray hairs and wrinkles and—”
“You’re f**king kidding me!” He’d shot upright and astonishment was clear on his face.
Cara shook her head. “No, I’m not.”
She gave him a minute to take that in. Cara rose beside him, tugging the sheet up to cover her br**sts.
His lips pursed. “Hmmm. Are women gonna start following me around now because my scent is supersexy?”
They’d better not, or she’d kick their asses. “No. The longer life span and physical appearance—those the only changes you’ll have.” The only ones she’d ever known a human mated with one of her kind to have. The renewing power was secret and sacred, and custom dictated that it was to be shared only with the mate of a succubus or an incubus.
Todd was her mate, forever.
“So now you know another of my secrets,” she told him, and raised her chin. “And the choice to stay or go,” because it wouldn’t be easy, having a longer life when so many that surrounded him—so many that he cared for—weren’t able to walk the earth with him for those days. “That choice is yours.”
“Go?” He repeated, then he caught her arms, rolled fast, and pinned her beneath him on the bed. “Trust me, baby, there’s no going for me.” His kiss was warm and hungry. “I’m right where I want to be, with the woman I want, for the rest of my damn life.”
Her heart slammed against her chest at his words. “Are you sure? Think about it, Todd. I can’t just take from you—it’s not an option.” Long-term mating with a succubus without the exchange of power would result in death for a human. “You’ll be different.
From your family, your friends.” He needed to understand the road he would take with her.
“We can end things now,” she told him. “Before you change, before anything else happens—”
“Too late.” Said simply. “I’ve already changed.”
What? No, he hadn’t—
“When I met you, I changed.” He shook his head. “I don’t ever want to go back to being the guy I was before. I want to spend the rest of my days—however many I get—with you.”
Oh, but that sounded good to her. She tried to smile, because it was either smile or start crying like a baby. “Then I guess you’re okay with my latest secret, huh?”
His lips hitched into a half-smile, a smile that showed off the dimple she loved so much. “Baby, I’m fine with all your secrets—and I know you’ve got more.”
Her breath caught. “Do you?”
“One day, I’ll discover them all.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “Every.” Another kiss. “Last.” A swipe of his tongue. “One.”
“You…ah…know my secrets.”
“Not all of them.” Whispered against her mouth. “But one day, one day I just might…”